PERTH AMBOY - On the 12th anniversary of the terror attacks on the Twin Towers, Fire Chief Abraham Pitre gave a moving account about the fear and anguish he felt and the dust he saw and breathed in on Sept. 11, 2001 when he responded to New York City to provide mutual aid.

Pitre said it was a day he would never forget, because he couldn't.

He recalled all the injured people at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, and the call that his friend and former Perth Amboy volunteer firefighter, Richard Rodriguez, a Port Authority police officer, was missing.

Pitre said he would never forget the damage and destruction he saw. And he would never forget Rodriguez, and the other first responders, who made the ultimate sacrifice that day, and he asked others to do the same.

Now four years later, it's Pitre's memory other members of the Perth Amboy Police and Fire Departments are looking to keep alive.

"Chief Abraham Pitre truly knew the definition of brotherhood in the fire department and truly knew what it was like to be a positive role model in the community," acting Perth Amboy Fire Chief Edward Mullen said.

Mullen said Pitre was there to help his fellow firefighters and any member of the community, without hesitation.

"He was truly loved by everyone," Mullen said, adding Pitre was always there with a smile to lift up his fellow firefighters.

Deputy Police Chief Larry Cattano, who has worked with the fire department, said Pitre was a "community firefighter" who touched many lives.

He said Pitre never stopped.

"He was always working, training, or out in the public," Cattano said, adding Pitre was constantly involved in community events, including the recent Nobooza Palooza Teen Festival at Waters Stadium.

The American flag is at half staff for Fire Chief Abraham Pitre in front of the Perth Amboy Fire Department headquarters.(Photo: ~Courtesy of Perth Amboy Fire Department)

Cattano said he and Pitre both volunteered with the first aid squad in the late 1980s, when Pitre was just a 16-year-old cadet.

"We rode the ambulance together," Cattano said, adding Pitre was later hired as one of the city's first 911 dispatchers before being hired as a firefighter in 2000.

"He sailed through the ranks," Cattano said. "He was very hard working."

Cattano said Pitre had a special place in his heart for blind people, that he believes stemmed from a fire call involving a blind person. Pitre held Beep Baseball fundraisers, in which players were blind folded and had to listen for a beep to know when to hit the ball.

Following a 2016 fire in which more than 30 cats had to be resuscitated with pet masks Pitre's wife had purchased for the department, a local teacher and her students collected pennies to purchase 10 more pet mask kits, which Pitre, an animal lover who helped out at the city's shelter, said equipped every fire apparatus in the department.

Pitre also worked to send surplus fire equipment to other countries.

On Tuesday, in a show of respect for Pitre, 44, who died suddenly on Saturday, the Perth Amboy Fire Department placed the fire chief's car and turnout gear on display at fire headquarters on New Brunswick Avenue, next to the American flag at half staff. The circumstances surrounding Pitre's death are unclear, but are not considered suspicious, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.

The display was created in preparation for Wednesday's funeral viewing for firefighters and other emergency responders as well as the public at the Gustav J. Novak Funeral Home, 419 Barclay Street.

The Perth Amboy Fire Department and Emergency Services procession and ceremony will begin at 3:30 p.m. at Perth Amboy Fire Headquarters, 375 New Brunswick Ave., and arrive at the Novak funeral home.

"We will honor him as a chief, as a father, husband, friend and co-worker," Mullen said. "The police and fire department will honor him as a leader."

Memorial services will begin upon arrival at the funeral home, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. for fire and emergency services personnel only. Visitation services for the public will be held 5:30 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at the Novak funeral home.

Mullen said since Saturday, 60 fire departments from different counties have volunteered to assist Perth Amboy as first responders and city residents deal with Pitre's death.

Pitre worked for the city since 1993. He had previously been involved in emergency services as a member of the Perth Amboy First Aid Squad, as a volunteer firefighter and as a member of the Emergency Service Bureau with the Middlesex County Office of Emergency Management.

He was appointed to the career division of the Perth Amboy Fire Department in April 2000, promoted to lieutenant in 2007, captain in 2010, battalion chief in 2011, acting chief in July 2013 and chief in March 2014 — the city's first Hispanic to hold that position.

During his service with the fire department, he helped develop a fire prevention program for the blind that he taught for the Division of Fire Safety through Kean University.

He was a certified rescue diver and a certified emergency medical technician.

In 2014, Pitre was involved in helping Perth Amboy students learn about firefighting as part of an internship program between the fire department and the Perth Amboy High School Personalized Learning Academy and the Accelerated High School at the Education Center, a program that exposed students to potential careers.

During an interview about the program Pitre said fire service is not just running into buildings, rescuing people and putting fires out.

"We do community-based work," he said, adding that included working with schools and teaching fire prevention.